Transcript: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 18, 2026

The following is the transcript of an interview with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 18, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're joined now by the mayor of Minneapolis, Mr. Jacob Frey. Good morning to you, Mr. Mayor. 

MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR JACOB FREY: Good morning. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: The secretary specifically called on you to set up a safe zone where protests would be contained. Is that something you're looking at?

MAYOR FREY: First Amendment speech is not limited to one park or one section of the city. You are allowed to protest, so long as you're doing it peacefully. And by the way, we've got tens of thousands of people in Minneapolis that are grinning down the bear, that are peacefully expressing their First Amendment rights. So no, you can't have just one section of a city. That's not the way First Amendment works.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you a number of things about what's happening in the city, but I just want to get out of the way these reports that are- have been in the press since Friday, that you and Governor Tim Walz are under federal investigation. CBS reporting is that this is for alleged conspiracy to impede immigration agents. The deputy attorney general also said earlier this week, he's going to stop you, quote, from your terrorism. Have you received any subpoena or any official notice that you are under investigation? And if so, for what?

MAYOR FREY: We have not received any official anything at this point, and so, I can't comment on what I don't know about. That being said, this whole dynamic is deeply concerning because supposedly, they would be coming for me and targeting me for something that is core and critical to my job as mayor, and that is speaking for my residents and my constituents. That we are at a place right now where the Department of Justice or the federal government could be coming after senators and governors and mayors simply for speaking for their respective constituencies and disagreeing with this federal administration- I mean, this kind of thing happens in other countries. This cannot happen in America.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, our reporting is it's impeding immigration agents, but the specifics of that, we would love to see some paperwork on from the administration. In terms of what's happening in your city, the Minnesota National Guard was mobilized Saturday by the state, which the police chief supported as potential support for his local law enforcement. They have not been deployed. Do you think your city needs them? And how would you describe the protest this weekend?

MAYOR FREY: We are doing the work to keep people safe in our city, and specifically, it is our local police officers. It is the state of Minnesota and our governor. We are doing everything possible to keep the peace, notwithstanding this occupying force that has quite literally invaded our city. I mean, we've got 600 cops in the city of Minneapolis, and we're talking about 3,000 plus ICE agents and border control that have come in. They're not making our city safer. In fact, our city has been safe. Crime is down in virtually every category and virtually every neighborhood of the city. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: You said occupying force, don't, don't you think that's a- that's a bit much?

MAYOR FREY: I mean, look, you can go through whatever rhetorical flourish you want, but when you have 3000 ICE agents and border control come to the city, when you've got this supposed threat of 1500 military coming to the city, yeah, that's very much what it feels like. When you outnumber local police officers five and six to one, that is the vibe. And so the bottom line is, if the goal were safety, this is not how you get there. If the goal is safety, I can give you the very antidote to some of the violence that we're seeing is have them leave.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they argue, the administration that is, that this is a sanctuary county and a sanctuary city, and they are enforcing federal immigration law, and that therefore this is called for. That they're cleaning up a mess that the last administration created. I mean is- how do you prescribe in this unprecedented situation for local and federal officials to work together here? 

MAYOR FREY: We have worked together. We do work together when this is about getting murderers and rapists and all the other bad stuff that Kristi Noem just said off the street. We have worked with the DEA and the FBI. We have worked with the ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office to drive down crime, get violent criminals off the streets and on the north side, shootings are the lowest that they've ever been, I believe, on record. And so nobody's against that. But that is not this. This is not about safety. What this is about is coming into our city by the thousands and terrorizing people simply because they're Latino or Somali, and yeah, people in Minneapolis are speaking up. They're speaking up peacefully. They're standing up for their neighbors. And this is not just about resisting Trump. This is about loving and caring for the people that call this city home. And it's been inspiring.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, on the ICE actions themselves, your attorney general out in Minnesota, Keith Ellison, has asked Minnesotans to gather information about federal actions and post them on his website. What's the intent of those incident reports? And I understand the- in theory what this is but if you are saying that it is not safe for civilians to be inserting themselves in enforcement operations or even surrounding enforcement operations, aren't you asking them to do something that is endangering them?

MAYOR FREY: No, civilians should not be involved in enforcement operations, taking a cell phone out and video taping what's going on is not enforcement, that's transparency. You know, sunlight can be the best disinfectant, and in this case, yeah, they're disinfecting some of the really horrible things that are taking place on our street. Because, you know, to the extent that ICE agents are doing things that are unconstitutional, by the way they are, this is their opportunity to make sure that it is seen, that it is judged, and that we get our day in court.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I think that the whole country is hoping for stability, and peace and security. Mr. Mayor, thank you very much. We'll be right back.